Ελιές που ανασύρθηκαν αυτούσιες στην Κνωσσό και χρονολογούνται περί το 2.000 π.Χ. (Αρχείο Α. Ματάλα)
Olives in ancient times.
Name - Origin
Ελιά.
In ancient times, as is the case today, olives were processed before being consumed. Hesychius (5th century AD) records in his dictionary the word ‘βομβοĩαι’ as the Cypriot name for kolymbates olives (preserved in brine) (Hadjioannou 1975, 354).
Functional and symbolic role
Since ancient times, olives have been a staple in the Cypriot diet, consumed either as such or in the form of olive oil.
Additional information and bibliography
The information on the olive tree and olives in ancient Cyprus is derived from excavation finds, written sources and illustrations.
Macrobotanical remains which testify to the consumption and processing of the olive fruit into olive oil are the olive kernels, whether charred or not. Such remains have been found in Cyprus at sites of the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Late Bronze Age and Hellenistic periods. The absence of kernels from Early and Middle Bronze Age finds is not to be due to reduced consumption or use of the fruit but to the fact that most excavated sites of this period are necropolis (Hadjisavvas 1992, 3). The transition from wild to cultivated species is traced in the measurements of the kernel. The elongation of the kernel ipoints out to a cultivated species (Hadjisavvas 1992, 3). In written sources, we find in the work 'On Riddles' of Clearchus of Soli (4th-3rd century BC) the name 'ἐλαία' (eléa) along with other foods . The passage is quoted by Athenaeus (2nd-3rd century AD) in his work 'Dipnosophystae' (19.649).
Hadjisavvas, S. (1992) Olive-oil processing in Cyprus-from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine Period, Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 99. Nicosia: Paul Astroms.
Gulick, C.B. trans. (1980) Athenaeus-The Deipnosophists 14.649a, Loeb Classical Library τ.6. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 504-505.
Hadjioannou, K. (1975), Η Αρχαία Κύπρος εις τας Ελληνικάς πηγάς, τ.Β, Nicosia: Holy Archbishopric of Cyprus
Natassa Charalambous
ΕΙΚ.1α: Θραύσματα απεικόνισης αποθηκευτικού πίθου από την Μάα-Παλαιόκαστρο (Porada 1988, pl.E)
ΕΙΚ.1β: Αναπαράσταση απεικόνισης αποθηκευτικού πίθου από την Μάα-Παλαιόκαστρο (Porada 1988, pl.E)
ΕΙΚ.2: Ελεφαντοστέινη κασετίνα παιχνιδιού από την Έγκωμη (Porada 1988, pl.E)
ΕΙΚ.3: Το εξόγκωμα ως χαρακτηριστικό του ελαιόδεντρου (Porada 1988, pl.E)
ΕΙΚ.4: Εμπίεστο αποτύπωμα σφραγιδοκυλίνδρου
ΕΙΚ.5: Ελεφαντοστέινη λαβή καθρέφτη
ΚΕΙΜ.1: Αναφορά Ησυχίου στις κολυμπάδες ελιές
ΚΕΙΜ.2: Αναφορά Κλεάρχου του Σολέως στην 'ἐλαία'
Traditional Recipes
Black Olives
“…salt them and leave them in the basin. Stir them until the salt dissolves and they are ready” (Testimony of Panagiota Charalambous, Kyperounda).
Foods
Eliá - olive
Harvesting of olives was usually taking place in two periods, according to the type of olives to be produced. In late August or early September, when olives were still green, Cypriots would pick a…
Foods
Elies koumniastes - Black olives koumniastes
Elies koumniastes were prepared using ripe black olives. Cypriot women would wash the olives, they would put them in brine for 3-4 days and would store them in a koumna (clay container) with salt.
Traditional Recipes
Eliopitta - pl. Eliopittes - olive pie(s)
Often, eliopitta has the shape of a small round bun and contains whole olives. In other cases, it may be kneaded with pieces of olives, onion and fresh coriander/spearmint, or it may be a rolled pie…
Foods
Eliopittes or eliotes - olive pies
Eliopittes are appetising and delicious; during baking the oil from the olives is absorbed into the dough (Pharmakidou, 2003 p. 302).
Foods
Kipriaki epitrapezia elia - Cypriot table olives
The Cypriot table olive is produced from a local Cypriot variety of olives, cultivated all over the island.
Traditional Recipes
Tsakkistes green olives
“Crack the olives. Place them in a container with water. Add the water, salt and lemon juice and mix. Put the olives in bottles and fill them with the marinade” (Georgia Neocleous, Kyperounda).